In a remarkable charity drive, two young sisters from the UK raised nearly £40,000 (roughly around PKR 9500,000) for poor families in Sindh. Important to note, the sisters previously raised funds of around £50,000 in Ramazan for poor families in Thar, Sindh.
Haziqah, aged 10, and her five-year-old sister Khadeejah initially decided to raise the funds to give back to the community their mother and grandparents were from. For Ramazan, the girls raised £50,000 which went towards food parcels to feed families in the Thar desert.
Inspired and motivated by their success, the two young sisters decided to do it all over again for the winter. Living conditions in Thar, Sindh are already tough. However, the cold winter season increases problems for the people.
Read more: Hindus in Sindh commit suicide as they fail to find food
As a result, the girls teamed up with Jigsaw, a volunteer-led charity based in Birmingham. The young girls managed to raise more than £30,000 in just seven weeks.
Huge funds raised despite Christmas
Their father, who is an airport worker, was not sure that they would be able to raise any amount due to Christmas approaching. However, the girls received massive support.
“At first we were not sure as it’s this close to Christmas but we were blown away by what we have raised again,” their father told the media. “We had a lot of support from Al Akhirah funeral services in Sparkbrook who supported the girls – as well as donations from everyone up and down the country.”
“I’m lost for words. It embedded in their minds to help those less fortunate than them and I hope that sticks with them,” he further added.
Amazing work girls!
Inspiring Small Heath sisters raise nearly £40,000 to help poor families https://t.co/DAwjfl946Z
— Anisah Vasta (@anisahvasta) December 22, 2021
Needless to say, the girls received widespread appreciation on social media and in their hometown.
Sindh has one of the highest levels of food insecurity, malnutrition, and poverty. In 2020, the population faced multiple shocks including high food prices, locust outbreaks, rains/flooding/snowfall/drought, all exacerbated by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Women and children suffer disproportionately because of gender discrimination, customary practices and prevalent dietary habits.
Read more: Combating the challenge of food insecurity